Riff Of The Week: Egypt Edition
Riffs from Mercyful Fate, Gorod, Satan, Xoth, Scolex, Pulver, Scarab, Calm Hatchery, and Kylesa.
Choose your god.
Before we get phrygian, let’s take a look at the results from last week’s Thrash Edition. In an unconvential field, Annihilator just snatched the win by a couple of percentage points or whatever people call them.
This week’s theme was Egypt
Let’s see what you sent in…
Positronic Brain
Xoth – “Plague Revival 20XX” (Riff @ 0:28)
These guys are fun, and fucking sick shredders too. This riff, from 0:28 – 0:43 or so, sounds more like a solo, and is in fact cleaner and harder than any solo I could play, but it’s not a solo, it’s a RIFF, repeated later in the song as well. The Egypt connection? Well, the lyrics don’t SEEM to be about the Ten Plagues that “happened” in Egypt back in biblical times, but I guess it’s possible, and also possible that plagues of some sort could make a comeback in 20XX.
WhamBamSam
Satan – “Incantations” (Riff at 0:00)
In a week that’s sure to put some strain on the No Maiden rule, here’s another favorite Egypt-themed NWOBHM riff of mine.
W.
Mercyful Fate – “Curse of the Pharaohs” (Riff @ 0:14)
Much like Brendan Fraser’s seminal adventure film, The Mummy, Mercyful Fate’s killer “Curse of the Pharaohs” contains multitudes (of riffs). And that riff at 0:14’s got me like Imhotep at 1:52.
Hans
Limp Bizkit – ‘Rollin” (Riff @ 0:52)
“The ancient Egyptians believed that Khepri renewed the sun every day before rolling it above the horizon, then carried it through the other world after sunset, only to renew it, again, the next day.”
Iron Goddess of Mercy
Scarab – “The Afterlife Illusions” (Riff @ 3:29)
Riff! Totally riffed out. Riff-fishin’ with my motherfuckin’ Ra.
Spear
Gorod – ‘Bekhten’s Curse’ (Riff @1:57)
Recent drooling over Nile notwithstanding, the best tech death song about Egyptian mythology from the last couple years was a Gorod tune. It’s possibly my favorite song in their discography; only these guys can take a ridiculously complicated tapping riff and make it this catchy. I chose the harmonized version in the chorus, but you can check out just the melody at about 00:40 to hear it in its unadulterated glory.
Megachiles
Scolex – ‘Black Pyramid Ritual’ (Riff @ 0:49)
Turns out the bassist from Chthonic Deity has another band, Scolex, and I really wish they’d release a full length, cuz this is the Ancient Aliens-Egyptian-Stargate Conspiracy metal I need more of in my life.
vanNeun
Calm Hatchery – ‘Stone Wings of the Emperor’ (Riff @ 0:00)
This song comes from their first album ‘El-Alamein’ – which is a city located in Egypt. Hopefully this is deemed to be within the theme and the requirement of a short description.
Lacertilian
Pulver – ‘Kings Under The Sand’ (Riff @ 0:11)
Expected at least some Nile and was going to subvert that with some Scarab, but got some Scarab so going to switch up to some Pulver. We covered this one earlier in the year on a Riff-Raff episode and while not melodically Egyptian sounding for the most part, or even extreme it’s still one of the most memorable riffs of the year.
Next week’s theme is Skin
Be as literal or creative as you like
Anyone can enter
Submission details below
